Sudan Orders The Expulsion Of Aid Officials From 2 Groups

By SOMINI SENGUPTA

Published: November 30, 2004

The government of Sudan has ordered the country directors of two Britain-based aid agencies that provide relief to displaced people in the Darfur region to leave the country, accusing them of statements that the government says suggest support for rebels.

The directors were ordered out barely three weeks after Sudanese authorities and their rebel enemies signed an agreement promising to expand access for aid efforts in Darfur, in western Sudan. Late Monday, the government said it would postpone the decision, citing administrative difficulties and humanitarian grounds, Reuters reported.

Mohamed Yousif Abdalla, the Sudanese humanitarian affairs minister, said the decision had been delayed until after he returned from a trip to Europe in four or five days. One group, Oxfam Great Britain, which focuses on providing clean water and sanitation in displaced people's camps across Darfur, had said Monday that it was ''seeking clarification'' of the government's orders. The other group, Save the Children UK, whose work includes distributing soap and blankets to families fleeing war in Darfur, confirmed the expulsion notice on its Web site.

In a news release on the Web site of the official Sudan News Agency, the government called the agencies to task for making public declarations, instead of discussing complaints with the government.

''The ministry sees in these statements indications for supporting rebels and arms holders to continue the war and that such practice constitutes violation for voluntary work laws,'' the ministry said in the news release.

Access for aid groups has been a contentious issue since a rebellion broke out in western Sudan in early 2003. The issue prompted the United Nations to denounce the violence in Darfur as the world's worst relief crisis. This is the first time the government has asked aid workers to leave the country, United Nations officials said.

The British ambassador in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, took up the issue with senior government ministers on Monday, as did United Nations officials.

''We are very much concerned about the situation, particularly given the role, and the scope of the role'' played by these groups, the spokeswoman for the United Nations mission in Sudan, Radhia Achouri, said by telephone from Khartoum. ''We would regret it if government of Sudan would go ahead with its decision.''

Save the Children said a week ago that government warplanes had bombed Tawila, a town just west of here, in response to a rebel attack earlier in the day. Staff members of Save the Children fled into the desert, where they were rescued by African Union helicopters.

In a statement issued at the time, the group accused both the government and the rebels of violating the cease-fire.